


serpents aren’t so bad

by xelated



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Asexual Jughead Jones, Bisexual Archie Andrews, Bisexual Cheryl Blossom, Bisexual Toni Topaz, Bit of homophobia, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, FP is a good dad, Fred cares too much, M/M, Pansexual Sweet Pea, Reggie & Toni are now bro’s, Some Offensive Language, Some sad stuff, Toni & Sweet Pea share a bed, Toni Topaz Needs a Hug, Vegas the dog is relevant, fangs is a soft gay, i don’t do bughead sorry, it’s totally platonic tho, some possible slut shaming, young Fangs Fogarty, young Sweet Pea, young Toni topaz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-06-05 22:23:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15180644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xelated/pseuds/xelated
Summary: Some stuff I think about at 2am-They’re all still just kids





	1. help

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where I’m going with this  
> -

 

**—————————————————————**

I need some help, if there’s any storylines you’d want to see explored then please tell me!

I can do chapters of them when they were younger or in present time I don’t mind :)

**—————————————————————**

I may also loosely follow the tv show plot line sometimes.


	2. your past matters

 

Toni Topaz.

 

she deserved more than she got, well at least that's what Sweet Pea, Fangs and maybe Jughead thought.

 

Sweet Pea has been friends with Toni since they were little kids, before their lives got fucked up, 

 

 _The simpler times_ as Toni liked to call them. 

 

Sweet Pea still remembers when he first met Toni. He was sat on the park bench waiting for his mom to finish talking to another lady when Toni just walked over and sat next to him, she didn't say anything but she just sat there with him. Sweet Pea had come to realise that she wasn't only sitting next to him because she thought _he_ was lonely but also because _she_ was lonely. They kept meeting each other on the same bench at the same time each week and slowly they talked more and more, eventually school started up and Sweet Pea couldn't be more thankful that Toni was there with him. 

 

It was 2 years later when Fangs came into the picture. Sweet Pea had originally been rather jealous of Fangs because said boy had been paired with Toni for a science project so Toni had been spending more time with Fangs than with him. Looking back Sweet Pea knows it was selfish of him to not want to 'share' Toni. It was easily resolved when Toni told Sweet Pea that she wasn't his type and she never would be. It wasn't till he was 12 that he finally understood what Toni meant.

 

Sweet Pea remembered his 13th birthday as if it were yesterday, why? well it was the day his dad ditched him and his mom and brother. Sweet Pea's older brother Christian would be forced to take care of him since their mom had been somewhat unresponsive after her husband left. The odd thing was that Sweet Pea didn't ever really miss his father, sure he was bitter over it but he wasn't devastated. 

 

He knew it hurt to lose a parent but he had no idea what it was like to lose both, unlike Toni.

 

Toni's mom died when she was 7, it had hit her and her dad hard. It was at this point where things began to unravel. Toni's dad was one of the nicest men you would meet, he was always there for Toni whenever she needed him which was something she always appreciated. She still remembers the time when her dad had said yes to her dying her hair. She had been overjoyed because she had always said she wanted to stand out, and stand out she did.It was at 11 years old when Toni's life seemed to crumble. 

 

Toni and her dad were driving home from a fishing trip when they were hit by a northsiders truck. said northsider had been none other than Ricky Mantle. The rich man had gotten out with a couple scratches and bruises but Toni left the wreck with a broken arm and internal bleeding but that hadn't stopped her from trying to drag her dad's lifeless body out the car.

 

Ricky Mantle had driven away as fast as possible, he hadn't wanted to be involved with southsider business. Toni never forgot what the man looked like but she had never seen him since. 

 

Sweet Pea had gotten a call from the hospital, they said Toni had wanted him. He got Christian to drive him up to the hospital and he was almost certain they broke the speed limit. Sweet Pea had been made to wait an hour while they sorted everything out, during this time he had wondered around the hospital where he bumped into a teary eyed redheaded girl. Little did he know that the two would come to know each other only years later. Sweet Pea hadn't even thought to call Fangs and mentally kicked himself when he remembered, almost right after the call ended he was allowed to see Toni. Toni had looked so fragile and vulnerable laying in the bed, she was curled up facing away from the door, Sweet Pea had slowly made his way to he side and once Toni saw him she hooked her good arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug which he gladly returned. 

 

This was the only time Sweet Pea had cried. 

 

They had just stayed together and eventually Sweet Pea was laying next to a sleeping Toni, his arm still hung over her midsection. He stared at her face which was littered with bruises and cuts, it hurt to see his best friend like this, and in that moment Sweet Pea vowed to do whatever he could to protect Toni. Sweet Pea fell asleep soon after and he was laying peacefully until he heard the door creek open revealing a worried Fangs. Sweet Pea lifted his head and gave Fangs a sad smile, Fangs crept over to the chair on the opposite side of the bed next to Toni and got comfortable.

 

"Christian wanted to talk to you real quick" Fangs whispered 

 

"oh ok i'll be back" Sweet Pea replied as he carefully slid out of the bed.

 

Christian was waiting patiently outside the room on an uncomfortable looking chair

 

"Hey buddy how is she?" Christian asked sounding rather tired

 

"she's asleep right now but i don't know if she'll ever be _okay_ " his brother nodded at his response 

 

"well you need some food in ya so come on we're off to the cafeteria"

 

-

 

while Sweet Pea decided what drink he wanted a man walked up and grabbed a drink, he saw Sweet Pea looking at him and smiled kindly

 

"Hey there little man" 

 

"i'm not little" Sweet Pea retorted 

 

"okay" The man laughed "i'm Fred"

 

"Sweet Pea" was his answer 

 

"well Sweet Pea what brings you here?"

 

"my friend was in a car accident, she's pretty hurt" 

 

"I'm sorry to hear that, i hope she feels better soon" the sincerity in Fred's voice startled Sweet Pea, why did this guy care about someone he didn't even know

 

"what about you" 

 

"my son Archie fell out a tree this morning and hit his head"

 

"oh. well i hope he gets better too" Sweet Pea smiled slightly before grabbing a sandwich and going to pay

 

"I'll see you around kid" Fred said as Sweet Pea nodded and went to find his brother.

 

-

 

Sweet Pea had returned back to Toni's side as quickly as possible. The trio never really spoke about those days anymore, it brought too many bad memories back. Jughead knew Toni's parents weren't around but he didn't know they were dead.

 

-

 

Fangs' case was a little different. He too had no parents but he had never met them. His mother died in childbirth and his father had died a month prior to his birth.

 

Sweet Pea remembers Toni asking Fangs why he didn't miss his parents 

 

 _**"I** _ **_never knew them so i don't know what i'm missing"_ **

 

Fangs was the quietest of the three, he just chose his words carefully. 

 

Toni was the brains of the three, she always seemed to have an answer to everything.

 

Sweet Pea was the muscle of the three, he would be the first to pick a fight and usually win said fight. when it came to calming down only Toni would be successful, Sweet Pea doesn't know why he only seems to listen to her but he was glad she could calm him down.

 

There was one thing the trio knew was true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They would always have each other.


	3. art of the dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oi oi I have no clue when I’ll update.

It was the day of Riverdale high’s art show.

Every student had been forced to submit some piece of art they had done so students families could see _‘the great progress that has come from the school merge’_

Sweet Pea had made some odd building out of random objects whilst Fangs had drawn a picture of himself, toni and Sweet Pea as kids laying down in the grass. It was based from the photo they had taken when they were 12.

But Toni. Oh boy. Her artwork was both dark and beautiful.

It was a beautiful watercolour painting.

It was Toni facing away and showing the serpents symbol on the back of her jacket proudly, her pink and purple hair flowing down and around the serpent. But above her head was the dark part, it was black and blue with several drawn images of things such as the crashed car, a young version of herself sat on a bench alone with her head in hands. But probably the saddest of them all was the small image directly above the head, it was the lifeless face of her father.

His eyes were grey and his blood flowed into the background.

Many of the students, parents and teachers had taken one look and quickly moved on, not that Toni really cared, there was only one person she wanted approval from and that was the red headed bombshell.

It’s safe to say that ever since their little stand off in the halls on the first day of the merge Toni had some respect for the girl as well as a little crush. Ok a big crush.

So when the girl came around to Toni’s work she stopped abruptly, ignoring Toni at first because her attention was on the painting and only the painting. Cheryl’s expression drifted into something sympathetic before turning to Toni with her confident look.

“Your artwork is.. quite intriguing Topaz” Cheryl smiled kindly before walking on to look at Veronica lodges work leaving Toni who looked like she was about to explode.

Sweet Pea had seen the whole interaction and made his way over

“Well looks like Cheryl took an interest”

“Yeah” Toni breathed out “sweets she said it was beautiful!” Toni whispered

“I’m sure that the art isn’t the only thing she found beautiful” Sweet Pea winked, earning a whack to the arm from Toni, the pair were laughing at their antics until a certain Reggie Mantle strolled up

“Man this is beyond dark”

“Well if ya don’t like it, get lost rich boy” Sweet Pea practically growled

“Woah woah chill! I was gonna say it’s also pretty good”

“Thanks Reggie” Toni smiled appreciatively before looking down to her shoes

“Yeah anytime Gem” Toni’s head snapped up and looked at Reggie is confusion

“W-what?”

“Gem, ya know topaz is the purple gemstone right and well I ain’t got many nicknames for you so you get gem”

“Oh so we’re friends now?”

“Well I hoped so since I don’t find much point in hating all the serpents when some of you are ok”

“Oh well ok then” she laughed

“What are you doing talking to these degenerates Reginald” a deep voice spoke out, a voice that belonged to none other than Ricky Mantle

“Just checking out the artwork like you said dad” Toni noticed Reggie tense up when his father spoke.

Toni looked up to see the man stare at her painting with a face of disgust, and it didn’t take her long to realise who this man was.

 

He was the man who killed her father.

 

She stood there frozen until her body caught up with her mind and she charged at Ricky Mantle and shoved him to the ground with all the force she could muster.

Peoples attention was drawn to the scene and Sweet Pea ran to Toni who had just landed a punch to Ricky’s face.

“YOU KILLED HIM!” She yelled

“Get this crazy bitch off of me!” Sweet Pea pulled Toni off the the man but she kept on trying to get out of his grip

“HE KILLED MY FATHER SWEET PEA! ITS HIM HE’S THE GUY WHO JUST HIT US AND DROVE AWAY”

A look of realisation came over Ricky’s face

“HE LEFT ME AND MY FATHER TO DIE!”

Everyone’s faces were full of shock but some were showing anger especially Sweet Pea, Fangs, Reggie and even Cheryl.

“Reggie be a good boy and get me out of here will you”

“Is it true”

“What?”

“I said is it true!” Reggie was getting more impatient as his father stuttered trying to come up with an answer

“You’re a piece of shit” he growled before heading over to Sweet Pea and Toni.

Sweet Pea was holding Toni close whilst she gripped his shirt and let the tears fall

“Let’s get you outta here Tiny, ok?” Sweet Pea spoke quietly and Toni just nodded so he pulled her up with him and they headed out the hall and before they left they could here Sheriff Keller speak

“Ricky Mantle you’re under arrest for—“

Reggie was quick to follow after the pair, as was Fangs and Jughead

As much as Cheryl wanted to see if the girl was alright she couldn’t risk her mother see her chase after a serpent.

 

The four of them found Toni and Sweet Pea sat outside on the school steps.

Fangs quickly sat beside the his two friends and offered some comfort to Toni.

Jughead sat on the step below unsure of how to handle the situation, he’d never seen Toni so vulnerable.

“I am so sorry Toni I had no idea” Reggie crouched to be in Toni’s eye-line, she looked up with tearful eyes and gave him a quick smile

“It’s ok Reggie, you didn’t know and I don’t blame you or anything” Reggie nodded and gave Toni’s hand a squeeze before standing and heading back towards the school “I’m gonna go let my mother know what he’s done. I’ll catch you guys later”

As Reggie went back into the school FP made his way out.

“Hey kid, I’m here for you if ya need me ok?” FP calmly spoke to Toni

“We’re all here for you” Sweet Pea held Toni a little closer which she appreciated

“Thank you” she whispered and glanced to FP then to Jughead “you guys can go home or back in we can head home” she continued

“Yeah I can take her back to my trailer” Sweet Pea said firmly, he wasn’t gonna be argued with.

“Ok well I’ll see you soon kid, and I’m sorry about everything” FP gave a kind smile

“See you in school if not tomorrow then next week” Jughead leant down and gave Toni a side hug before following his father back into the school where he was met with Archie who was rambling on about what went down. Jughead just dragged his best friend into the hall and explained all he knew.

Meanwhile Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs were beginning to mount their bikes.

Fangs had suggested Toni didn’t drive back on her own bike and Sweet Pea quickly agreed, so she sat behind Sweet Pea, wrapped her arms around the boys waist then laid her head on his back.

It was only minutes until they reached the trailer park, the trio entered the trailer and Toni went off into Sweet Pea’s room while the two boys remained where they were.

“I gotta get back home man or else my foster parents will kill me” Fangs spoke quietly

“Yeah yeah of course. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course” the pair stared at one another for a few moments before Fangs coughed and turned away. Just as he was about to leave he turned back to Sweet Pea

“Call me if anything happens”

Sweet Pea just nodded as Fangs left.

 

He walked to his room to find Toni rummaging through his shirt drawer.

She found an old black shirt of his and began to change.

This is how it was for them, how it had always been.

If Toni’s uncle ever locked her out of their trailer or if she didn’t feel safe there, then Toni would go to Sweet Pea and most of the time she just took one of his shirts to sleep in.

He had once asked Toni why and all she said was

 

**_“It makes me feel safe I guess”_ **

 

So after that he’d let her do as she pleased.

As Toni was changing Sweet Pea did the same. Eventually the pair just settled into the bed, Toni’s head tucked under Sweet Peas chin and Sweet Peas arms wrapped protectively around her.

“You gonna be ok Tiny?” He asked softly whilst tracing soft circles on her back with his fingers

“Yeah I will be” was the quiet reply

“Good. Because when you’re sad, nothing feels right” there was a pause before he continued “that probably made no sense”

“Well you never were good at English Sweets” Toni joked, and with that she curled closer to Sweet Pea and drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve always loved the idea of Toni & Sweet Pea sharing a bed in a platonic way ofc. And ever since that scene where Toni wore one of Jughead a shirts all I’ve thought about is her borrowing Sweet Pea’s. Aksjdhsh im just too in love with their friendship.


	4. can i talk to you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m living for the Sweet Pea and Toni friendship.

Sweet Pea was a good kid really.

Anyone who got to know him could see that he did care.

He sometimes cared too much.

If you were to ask him if he loved anyone he would simply scoff and send you an angry glare, but if you were to look past that then you’d know that the only reason he never told anyone about those he loved was because he is protecting them.

You see when you’re in a gang a lot can go wrong and a lot of people can get hurt.

 

That was the last thing Sweet Pea ever wanted.

 

Which is kinda funny considering he got into a ton of fights, but as long as his friends were ok. He was ok.

 

Despite being rather cold towards Fangs when they were younger, Sweet Pea had grown to really care for him -like _really_ care- He wasn’t sure if it was really love, maybe a crush, who knows? Sweet Pea was never certain about his sexuality.

That was one of the things that Toni & Fangs had and the thing Sweet Pea was envious of.

Fangs had known since he was 7 for gods sake and Toni? She was so sure of herself, so confident and she would most definitely fight back if you insulted her or her friends sexualities.

 

Sweet Pea had lost count of the amount of times he had laid in his bed and just thought about how he felt.

He never really bothered Toni or Fangs with his emotions, or feelings but unbeknownst to him Toni was always waiting for the day he truly opened up to her, the day he let down that wall she has spent years carving away at.

 

That night was one of these nights.

He had woken up at 4am with Toni’s body still pressed into his.

He sighed and began twirling some of Toni’s hair with his fingers, he liked Toni’s hair as weird as that sounds. It was always so soft and the colours just made it stand out and Sweet Pea loved that.

 

It was around 4:30 when Sweet Pea heard the trailer door open, it was his big brother Christian.

Christian didn’t stay in the trailer as much as he did a couple years ago, because of work he had to move around a lot. He was a photographer and a writer for a blog, something Sweet Pea never really took an interest in but something Toni was in love with.

Christian had given Toni her first camera after she came out of hospital, it was the first real happy smile since the accident.

She still used that camera and Christian couldn’t help but be happy about that.

He was like a brother to her and Toni really appreciated that, so did Sweet Pea.

 

Sweet Pea heard his bedroom door open and he lifted his head slightly to see his brother looking at them, Sweet Pea just gave him a quick smile before looking back to Toni’s face.

 

“I’ll tell you tomorrow” Sweet Pea whispered, Christian nodded and backed out the room shutting the door quietly. He walked to his room at the back of the trailer and when he opened his door he was surprised to see it was clean - really clean - he’d been away for over a month and there’s no way it’d stay this nice.

Sweet Pea. The boy always kept Christians room clean since he had no idea when his brother would be back.

Christian noticed a new photo on his bedside table, he picked it up and it turned out to be a photo of Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea on their first day at Riverdale high.

They were all smiling and their serpent jackets were being worn proudly.

Christian has never had any intention of joining the serpents, so when Sweet Pea announced that he ,Toni and Fangs were going to join at only age 14 he was worried to say the least, but seeing how at home his brother was with the serpents made him leave the matter alone. He trusted FP to keep them safe when he couldn’t do that himself.

On the back of the picture there was a note, the handwriting wasn’t very neat but it read:

_’i promised you I’d get a photo of us whenever something good happens, and this is probably the best thing to have happened._

_I just want to make you proud and maybe going to a better school and getting better grades will make you proud._

_-SP’_

 

Christian sighed and placed the photo back on the table.

Soon after he was falling asleep, thinking about what may have happened in the hours prior to his arrival.

**—**

**10 am**

**—**

Neither Toni or Sweet Pea had any interest in going to school so they texted Fangs and told him they’d be off. Fangs was offered to bunk off with them but he declined since he was failing science and he wanted better grades.

Toni was curled up on the couch with a blanket covering her small body whilst Sweet Pea was busy making breakfast.

Christian came out of his room and greeted the pair before sitting on the chair opposite Toni.

Soon enough Sweet Pea gave plates full of bacon, beans and eggs to Toni and Christian. He grabbed his own plate and sat beside Toni.

“Thanks sweets” she muttered softly

“No problem tiny”

Christian couldn’t help but smile at the two of them, he’d always wanted to have a best friend but unfortunately life just got in the way.

When they’d finished eating Christian decided to ask what had happened

“It turns out that Reggie’s dad was the guy who caused the crash, and he turned up at the art evening yesterday and well things got crazy from there” Sweet Pea told his brother as he fiddled with the ring on his middle finger

“You ok Toni?” Christian asked

“I punched his smug little face though and I gotta say it felt empowering” Toni smiled then started to laugh. The brothers were just looking at her confused

“I’ve spent years obsessing over who killed my dad but my dad is gone and nothing will change that and I’ve accepted that. As long as Mantle gets what he deserved I’m ok with it” Her voice went softer “I’m ok with it. And this time I really mean it” she looked to Sweet Pea who just smiled back at her.

 

Christian broke the silence

“Hey do you really think I ain’t proud of you?” He looked to his brother who looked at a loss for words. Toni looked between the two before speaking

“You really think Chris isn’t proud of you Sweets?”

“Well I guess- I mean I haven’t exactly been the model teen recently”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of you. Look you’ve been through more than what most kids go through, and a lot of kids going through a tough time give up but you? You’re still here. And despite the northsiders doing whatever they can to get you out of their school, you still go there and put up with it. Sure you get into a couple fights but considering what they say to us southsiders they deserve it.

So don’t you ever think I’m not proud of you little brother.”

Sweet Pea sat in silence for a moment before standing up and pulling Christian into a hug.

“Thank you” Sweet Pea whispered. He pulled away and turned to Toni.

“Do you think we could talk Tiny?”

“Yeah of course let me get dressed and we’ll head out” she swiftly got up and went to Sweet Peas room to change.

“Ok how the hell does she always seem to know what you mean or want?”

“I honestly have no idea man” they looked to each other and laughed

“Man she really is something isn’t she”

“Yeah she is”

 

—

 

Toni and Sweet Pea ended up by the river and sat on one of the large rocks that was situated there.

“Ok so spill. What’s been bugging you?”

Sweet Pea sighed

“I’m just confused, you know?” Toni stayed quiet waiting for him to continue

“I’ve been questioning... myself- my feelings I guess you could say- for a while and I feel as lost as I did to begin with”

“Hey it’s ok. Look just say whatever it is, I promise you’ll feel better” she took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze

“I like girls. But I also like guys. But I don’t think I mind whoever it is. Does that make sense?” He rushed all his words out but Toni caught everyone of them. She nodded thoughtfully.

“I think you’re probably pansexual then Sweets. You don’t mind who it is or who they were.”

“Yeah. Yeah that sounds right. Damn I really am bad with words” he chuckled to himself avoiding eye contact with his best friend. Said friend noticed this.

“Hey look at me.” When Sweet Pea did nothing Toni placed her hands on either side of Sweet Peas face and turned his head so he would look at her

“I told you to look at me. Am I the first person you’ve told?”

“Obviously. You’re always the first person to know anything”

“How long have you been questioning yourself?”

“I don’t know maybe a year or two”

Toni’s expression saddened

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped you out”

“I didn’t want to bother you”

 

“You could never bother me Sweets. _Never._ ”


	5. heart of gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter isn't very long, i'm not as inspired to write stuff for Fangs so he probably wont come up as much in later chapters since i'll focus on the Toni & Sweet Pea relationship + maybe a few sprinkles of choni idk.

Fangs Fogarty. The only name he’s ever gone by.

Not his real name but it’s the only one he’s ever known.

Fangs was adopted by the Fogarty family when he was just a baby, and he’d been grateful for them ever since.

 

Despite living on the southside, the house Fangs lived in was one of the bigger ones on the block. He lived with John & Karen Fogarty - his adoptive parents - and his adoptive younger sister Jane.

Jane was homeschooled since she suffered from severe social anxiety, but she was trying to be confident enough to eventually go to school with her big brother, one day, one day.

Fangs loved Jane and he supposed that was why he cared so much for others, it was just brotherly instinct.

 

Fangs was always the quiet kid in class, he never really expected anyone to take an interest in him but then he met Toni. Well technically they were made to be in a pair for a project but Toni seemed to have no problem with it, but her best friend Sweet Pea definitely did have a problem with Fangs back then.

Fangs knew instantly that Sweet Pea was only jealous but that had never really bothered him since he was glad to be able to talk to someone that wasn’t his family for once, then again he never knew Sweet Pea and Toni would become more like his family the older they got.

 

Fangs knew Toni and Sweet Pea had a special relationship, it was different but it worked for them. Fangs often felt like a third wheel but in all honesty he didn’t mind, as long as they were happy.

He trusted those two with his life, and they trusted him, they’d only fought once and even then they had made up by the next day.

 

Fangs came out to his family when he was 7, he remembers what he had said to his parents when they asked if he was sure

 

**_‘I’ve never been so sure of anything else in my life’_ **

 

Soon after those words left his mouth he was tackled into a hug by his mom who was just rambling about how happy she was for him and how brave he was for telling them while his dad sat back and smiled proudly at him. Fangs’ sister was much like his mom when he told her, he was just so happy that he’d been lucky enough to get a family like his.

 

Fangs had sailed through school with some of the top grades, he was constantly battling for the highest grade with Toni of course.

But as he reached high school he started sucking really bad at science. Fangs had no idea what happened but something just went wrong for him, he used to understand it but now? Everything was much harder.

Fortunately he’d been offered extra tutoring sessions after school from one of his classmates - Kelly.

 

Fangs knew he had it easier than most southsiders, but he never showed off, not once, and both his best friends admired him for that.

Jughead had come to see how selfless Fangs was over the weeks he’d known him. Fangs was the one he’d hang out with down at the trailer park when they’d finished school late.

 

After the art show Fangs took the longer route home after texting his parents that he’d be late back. He kept seeing Toni’s tear stricken face and he just wished he could stop her pain, he hated feeling so useless, but Fangs knew Sweet Pea was who she really needed at the time and he respected that of course. He’d check up on them the next day anyway.

He went to sleep that night after great difficulty, his mind was all over the place.

But one thing, one person he couldn’t get off his mind, Sweet Pea.

Fangs didn’t know what it was about the guy that he liked so much, he was always hoping that Sweet Pea might like him in that way, but Sweet Pea had only ever shown interest in girls and that broke Fangs’ heart.

 

**—**

**Friday, 9 am**

**—**

 

Fangs had gone by Sweet Peas trailer before school but he was met with Christian instead who told him the pair were still asleep and that he was more than welcome to drop by after school.

After saying a quick goodbye to Christian Fangs carried on waking to school, once he walked through the doors of the school many people turned to him , some stared with pity other with disgust, it still pissed Fangs off that some of the northsiders still held asense of hostility towards the southsiders.

He walked into the common room and set his bag on the floor before slumping down on one of the chairs.

His peace was disrupted only a few minutes later due to Reggie slapping his hand on Fangs’ shoulder, said boy sat on the table in front of Fangs and looked at him like he was expecting something.

“What?” Fangs asked

“Well I wanted to know how Toni is after that whole fiasco last night” Reggie’s attitude towards the southsiders really had changed, which surprised Fangs since he was one of the people set against them at the beginning.

“Oh uhm i’m not too sure really, she’s with Sweet Pea though so my guess is she’ll feel better than before” Fangs gave Reggie a kind smile

“Wait- so are Toni and Sweet Pea, _ya know_ ” Reggie spoke quieter than before, Fangs sat up straighter, eyes wide

“What? Oh god no-no-no- why would you think that?” Fangs rushed out his words

“Well they’re always together and- I don’t know I guess most of us just assumed they were a thing” fangs just nodded slowly

“Makes sense. Wait why do you wanna know?” Reggie sighed and leaned forward

“Well lets just say a certain fiery bombshell may have a little crush on Topaz” he whispered, Fangs smiles and chuckled softly

“Seriously?” Fangs asked to which Reggie just nodded “Well that’s good because I’m pretty sure Toni is so head over heels for Cheryl”

“Damn how long do you think it’ll take till they get together?” Reggie asked

“I don’t know, Toni may really like Cheryl but she’s still kinda stubborn and isn’t always so forward in the emotions department”

“Well luckily for Topaz, Cheryl is a little more forward”

 

——

 

The rest of the day went pretty fast for Fangs, he hung out with Jughead at lunch and the two of them agreed on dropping by Sweet Peas trailer to see how they were doing.

So as soon as they were dismissed they both went to their bikes and started off down the road to the trailer park.

As it turns out Toni and Sweet Pea were expecting them so when they entered the trailer bowls of popcorn were practically shoved into their faces before they were dragged to the couch which had been covered in blankets and pillows.

“Movie night boys. Sit down and deal” They both knew they couldn’t get out of this but why would they want to? As long as it helped cheer up Toni.

So that was how the four of them ended up stuffing themselves with popcorn whilst watching countless Disney movies until the early hours of the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave any suggestions for chapters below :)   
> i'll be focusing more on Sweet Pea in the next chapter, and there will be some Toni in there too.


	6. i ruined it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty to Kate+Topaz (I believe) for giving me an idea for this chapter.  
> You commented some other ideas that I plan on exploring later on so again ty!
> 
> -
> 
> I haven’t updated in ageeesss sOrry aksjhdhdh

Weeks has passed since the art show incident and all things considered they were doing ok.

Reggie had stood up for the serpent trio on more than one occasion, not that they necessarily needed him to, but they still appreciated it.

During these weeks Sweet Pea had been thinking about how he really felt towards one of his best mates - Fangs - he had come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of them being a thing, but it was more of a first boy crush for him. Much like how Toni was his first girl crush.

Ever since the day they met he had always wanted to be a part of her life no matter how small or big.

It was a couple years back when they were 14.

Things were relatively normal for Riverdale standards so Toni and Sweet Pea had gone down to the river, Sweet Pea had brought the set of knives he’d been given for his birthday so the two of them could throw them at trees or something like that.

Toni had loved one specific knife he owned, it was a beautiful silver, and the handle had various strips of gold that twisted into the pattern. Whenever they messed around with them she always chose that one and so Sweet Pea knew what he was gonna give Toni for her 15th birthday.

 

After a couple hours of throwing knives and playing in the river, the pair found a rock to sit on. Toni turned to him and smiled before looking back to the river

“What?” Sweet Pea asked confusion etched on his face

“It’s just- you’d never ditch me right?” Sweet Pea hadn’t seen Toni this worried about something since she broke one of her uncles beer bottles.

“No. No of course not- hey what’s brought this on?” Toni was still watching the river flow whilst fiddling with Sweet Peas knife when she replied

“This girl. She said that you wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore because there were so many other people- better people that you could be friends with”

“Hey Tiny- theres nobody I’d rather be friends with more. Ok you’re the best person I know. Who said that stuff?”

“Some _stupid_ blond girl- the one with the ponytail” she mumbled

“Oh god now _she’s_ irritating” Sweet Pea chuckled and saw a small smile creep onto Toni’s face

“She really is isn’t she?” Toni began to laugh louder and soon enough the pair were laughing their asses off.

-

“Man I needed that” Toni said as their laughter died down “but in turn for our joy I think we may have scared off half the wildlife”

“A small price to pay” was all sweet pea said quieter than usual

“You ok?” Toni asked concerned

“Y-yeah all good” Toni didn’t believe him for a second, Sweet Pea was a shit liar - well to Toni anyway - but she let him be.

They sat there for a bit longer before Sweet Pea just broke and took Toni’s face in his hands and kissed her.

As he pulled away he saw how shocked Toni was-

“I-I wha-“ Toni stuttered 

“I don’t know- i- I’m sorry” Sweet Pea took off before anything more could be said leaving Toni alone.

 

-

 

As soon as Sweet Pea was through the trailer door he shoved past Christian and went to his room slamming the door behind him. He stood just in front of his door for a few seconds before grabbing the closest thing, which happens to be his lamp, and threw it at the wall. He continued to throw objects around and trash his room he even shoved his old dusty dresser in front of the door but eventually collapsed beside his bed.

His breathing was getting faster and he could feel the tears rolling down his face.

It felt like the room was closing in on him and there was nothing he could do.

He pulled at his hair and screamed.

 

Someone was ramming into his door trying to open it. That someone was Christian although it wasn’t only him who wanted to get into the room.

Toni had gotten over the initial shock of what happened and gathered the things that Sweet Pea left by the river. As she approached his trailer she could hear the damage he was making and immediately rushed through the door. She found Christian trying to open the door so she put Sweet Peas things on the table and went to help.

 

Christian managed to get the door open wide enough for Toni to get through.

She fell to her knees at Sweet Peas side assessed the situation.

She moved so she was now in front of Sweet Pea and began speaking calmly but also firmly.

“Hey- hey sweets, ok look I need you to know that- that it’s okay. Alright? It’s fine- it’s okay, I’m okay, I just need you to try your best at slowing down your breathing okay? Look we’ll take it slow, no pressure alright?”

As his breathing slowed he began mumbling

“It’s my fault- I- I ruined it- I’m s-sorry Tiny”

“Hey it’s okay” Toni whispered as she pulled Sweet Pea into a hug, the taller boy shakily put his arms around her small frame and held onto her like she was the only thing keeping him from panicking, and maybe she was.

They sat in the messy room for almost an hour before moving to lay on the bed.

Toni couldn’t ever remember seeing her friend so small and vulnerable, and quite frankly she hated seeing him like this.

“I’m not mad Sweets. I just wanna know why” Toni ran her fingers through Sweet Peas hair soothingly

“Honestly, I don’t even know- I guess I’m just- god I don’t know. Sorry”

“It’s fine. Still friends right?”

 

“Always Toni, _always and forever_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna say sorry that this is so short, but the other half of this which again focused on SP got deleted and I couldn’t find inspiration to rewrite it at the time but I’m working on it.  
> -  
> Also sorry if anyone likes Betty bc I threw a lil bit of shade her way bc I’m not a fan of her character


	7. PLEASE READ

ok ok ok.  
so it's been sooo long since i updated but i plan on posting my next chapter in the next 2 days time.  
i've been adding to the chapter whenever i got inspiration and recently i have had some wOOP.

there is gonna be some choni sprinkled in there and i throw a bit of shade at betty, so sorry, at the moment betty & jug are together but it probably won't stay that way since i really dislike bughead so apologies to any bughead shippers - but i have an idea on why they split sooooo -

anyway expect an update soon, and possibly another next week since i have a week off school & more time to write :)

 

sorry for taking such a long time,  
and as always suggestions for chapter plots are appreciated x


	8. a party? huh.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some cliche party chapter-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been so long!  
> hope you enjoy this chapter.

 

If there was one lesson Sweet Pea despised more than the rest it was English, unlike Toni who loved English.

Jughead also had a passion for English but more for the writing side of things whereas Toni was more fond of the reading side.

They were studying the book ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Jughead has apparently read it 4 times, Toni had managed to get through half of it (they didn’t have the luxury of good completed books at southside high, let’s just say kids there preferred to throw the pages than to read them)

But Sweet Pea had barely read 1 chapter, it’s not like he didn’t want to it’s more that he couldn’t.

When he stared down at the paper all the words seemed to mix together, confusing him, all he could see was a jumble of random letters that meant nothing.

He had always hated being called on to read some passage or paragraph so he usually avoided it by either storming out of the room or being asked to leave because he wouldn’t speak.

Toni was well aware of this problem and had been trying to persuade him to get some help with it, but Sweet Pea was having none of it. He didn’t want to ask for help, he wanted to do this himself, he didn’t want to feel _useless_.

He often recorded the lessons on his phone so he could use that instead of using notes but there was only so much a recording could do to help.

Sweet Pea had received a terrible grade in his recent test whilst Toni got by with an A+ with Jughead just behind with an A. Fangs had managed a C+ despite English not being his strongest subject. 

 

There was a big red F on Sweet Peas paper that just screamed failure at him.

Toni caught sight of the grade and sent a sympathetic look his way

“I can go over some key notes tonight if you want” she whispered to which Sweet Pea just nodded softly 

“Another F? Man you gotta step up your game” Jughead said, not in a necessarily mean way but in a way that pissed Sweet Pea off

“What’s it matter to you Jones?” Sweet Pea replied bitterly 

“Just concerned- were you even paying attention in class?” Sweet Pea scoffed and pushed back his chair with a loud screech, grabbed his bag and left the room not paying attention to Toni who tried to grab his arm to get him to stay.

“Damn it” She muttered 

“I didn’t mean to upset him” Jughead said, still a bit shocked about what just went down. The teacher had just continued typing on her computer, evidently not giving a shit about the southsider drama.

“He just has a little bit of trouble with words is all Jug” Toni sighed “just don’t take it personally” 

“How long has this been going on?” Jughead asked 

“His whole life” Toni rubbed her forehead “Ive tried to get him to ask for help but he won’t ask. Stupid prideful bastard” She muttered the last part but Jughead heard and couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to himself 

“Got that right” 

“It’s not like he doesn’t try- I mean I’ve seen him stare at a page of the book for an hour just trying to understand it. I feel bad that I can’t help him out that much, but I know it’s something he had to overcome but then again he doesn’t have to do it alone” Toni groaned and lay her head on the desk 

“Hey it’s not your fault- you’ve tried your best, heck your still trying. He probably appreciates it so much Toni” 

 

“Yeah” was all she said 

 

-

 

Sweet Pea sat at his usual lunch table without a word, Toni looked at him for a few seconds before turning her eyes back to her book.

“Hey sweet pea I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offend you before” Jughead said sincerely

“It’s fine. Just forget it jones” Jughead just nodded wordlessly

After a few minutes of awkward silence Sweet Pea sparked up a conversation 

“That the English book you reading Tiny?” 

Toni made a surprised sound before looking up 

“Oh- Yeah, um it’s actually really good. Better than I expected” 

“I’m surprised you haven’t read it Toni, I thought it was something you would’ve read a million times” Jughead wondered aloud 

“Well we didn’t have completed books at southside, it was a rarity if we did. Plus I’m not exactly rolling in money” she joked causing the other people sat at the table to laugh.

 

It was nearing the end of lunch when Betty approached their table. 

“Hey Jug” She said in a sickeningly sweet voice, she kissed Jugheads cheek, said boy smiled awkwardly but Betty went ahead and perched on the seat beside him.

Betty looked around at the other serpents, Toni had quickly turned her attention to her book, Fangs was messing on his phone and Sweet Pea had become overly interested in his fork. The blonde girl coughed awkwardly and continued to speak “well I just wanted to ask if you guys would like to come to a party on Friday night” 

“Oh? And where would said party be at?” Asked Jughead 

“Cheryl’s house” this made Toni’s eyes widen and Sweet Pea coughed to try and hide his laugh which earned him a smack in the arm from Toni. Jughead just shook his head in amusement “we’ll be there, just text me details and stuff” 

“Of course, I’ll see you later Jug” and with one last kiss for Jughead she was off.

“Well well well. Looks like you only have a day to find the perfect outfit that’ll give Riverdale highs red haired bombshell a heart attack as soon as she lays eyes on it” This little comment got sweet pea a hard shove in the side this time. 

 

This was gonna be interesting.

 

—

 

As Toni, Sweet Pea, Fangs and Jughead approached Cheryl’s house they could already hear the thumping of the loud music. Toni had been to many parties within her school life but this one was by far the one she’d been most nervous for, it was confusing for her, she’d never felt this way with any other girl or guy and she both loved and hated the feeling.

Unaware of the internal battle Toni was having, Jughead went ahead and rung the doorbell.

It wasn’t Cheryl who opened the door though it was Reggie.

“Oh hey guys! I was wonderin when you’d all get here - come on in” Reggie opened the door further and let the four of them pass before shoving the door closed. As they squeezed through the masses of people Reggie handed them all drinks from the kitchen table, before taking a sip Fangs grabbed Reggie’s arm

“Wait- this been spiked?” 

“Of course, but if you wanna stay sober there’s some soda somewhere” 

“Thanks man I’m the one who has to drag their asses home” fangs jabbed a finger at the other serpents. 

“That sucks man” Reggie chuckled “anyway come on the real party’s out the back” he smiled. 

God what the hell had they gotten into.

 

—

 

The party wasn’t the biggest Toni had been to but it was by far the best mostly because there weren’t any creepy middle aged guys doing drugs or trying to get her to _‘come see something cool upstairs’_

As the party raged on Toni slowly migrated to a part of the stone wall where nobody was either making out or fighting.

She sighed as she leant her back against the cool bricks, her eyes scanned the garden and she took it all in. She looked down at the plastic red cup and began to tear it up.

 

“You know people usually just drink from the cups” a familiar voice said, Toni’s eyes widened slightly and she looked up only to be met face to face with the one girl she had been trying not to run into - not because she didn’t like her, just because she’d rather not embarrass herself -

“Oh. Right” Toni let out a breath and ceased her fiddling, only now did she realise she’d managed to cut her thumb on the plastic

“Now see that’s what you get for messing with plastic” Cheryl said as she noticed the blood, although it was malicious it was a more lighthearted tone one Toni hadn’t heard Cheryl use in all the times she’s heard her speak. 

“ah shit” Toni muttered and proceeded to suck the small cut all while Cheryl watched on amused. When the blood seemingly stopped flowing and the purple haired girl looked back up Cheryl continued to speak

“Well I was wondering if you wanted to join a game of seven minutes in heaven, all your serpent friends are already over there” she pointed to a small huddle of people sat round a table near the pool

“um- yeah, yeah sure” Toni stuttered 

“Come on then” Cheryl flipped her hair over her shoulders and walked back over to the group with a flustered Toni in tow.

When the pair neared the group Toni saw who she was going to be joining; Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Josie, Kevin, Archie, Sweet Pea, And Fangs.

She could see Sweet Pea sat there next to Fangs with a shit eating grin on his face, Toni glared at him and sat down beside him whacking the back of his head as she did.

“Well then” Cheryl clapped her hands together “let’s get this started. So I’m sure you all know the rules but if for some reason you’re an uneducated swine, you spin the bottle and whoever it lands on will join you in the shed over there” she paused to point at the beautiful looking shed behind her “you’ll spend no less and no more than seven minutes. Together. Oh and you have to kiss- I supposed I don’t have to tell Archie and Veronica the rules again do I?” She smirked and took her seat opposite Toni.

 

As the game progressed Toni had only been in the shed with Fangs and throughout the whole seven minutes they had just laughed at the ridiculous situation. But right now it was Cheryl’s turn, and a part of Toni was hoping the bottle would land on her.

She watched the bottle anxiously, round and round it went.

Then it stopped.

The neck of the bottle was pointed in her direction.

 

But, _not at her._

 

At _Sweet Pea._

 

 —

 

Despite trying to get out of going to the shed with Cheryl, Sweet Pea ultimately gave in but only after Toni told him to just go. 

Cheryl closed the door and the timer started, but neither of them moved. Sweet Pea looked everywhere except Cheryl’s face and Cheryl was looking at him as if she were working out some tricky problem.

 

Sweet Pea huffed “What” he turned his eyes to Cheryl’s

“Well it’s pretty obvious you don’t want to be in here with me, you probably want to be hanging out here with your girlfriend” Cheryl said picking at her perfectly manicure nails 

“My- what?” 

“Girlfriend” she dragged the word out as if she was talking to a young child

“Ok what the hell are you on about?” 

“God- your _girlfriend_. The cute serpent girl with the purple hair! Toni!” Cheryl said in a hushed sound so nobody outside could hear

“Toni?! What the hell- no god no no no” Sweet Pea ran his hands over his face and groaned “no- Cheryl, Toni isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my best friend. Why on earth would you think we were dating?” He asked incredulously 

“I- well you guys are always together, and-and your always so- so _touchy_ ”

“ _Touchy_?” He asked with an eyebrow raised 

“You know- oh god it doesn’t matter. I just assumed you were dating, I mean she didn’t look too happy when you came in here with me” Cheryl pursed her lips and crossed her arms

“Man for someone who has one of the highest grades in school you sure are dense sometimes” before Cheryl could retort he continued

“Toni wasn’t jealous you. She was jealous of _me_ ” he said softer than before, the words took a moment to process in Cheryl’s head before she uttered a simple “oh”

“Look Cheryl, Toni is _completely_ gone for you” he spoke sincerely, the two stood in silence until their time was up but just before Sweet Pea left Cheryl grabbed his wrist

“Thanks” was all she said before strolling back to the group with sweet pea just behind. 

When he looked around the circle he noticed a certain petit serpent was nowhere to be seen, he tapped Fangs’ shoulder “hey where’s Toni?” He whispered 

“She went back inside to get a drink. That’s what she said anyway, I didn’t go after, figured she’d want some space” Sweet Pea nodded and took off towards the house leaving everyone else confused, Cheryl looked to where Sweet Pea had gone and sighed softly.

 

Toni had received a string of texts from Sweet Pea, Fangs and Jughead, all asking where she was although after the first few she put her phone on silent and leaned against the wall. She had stayed with the other for around 4 minutes before she’d had enough and made up the lame excuse to get a drink, Toni had found herself on the second floor where everything was a lot quieter. She could hear the music die down slightly and the drunken laughs of the other guests as they left the house. 

Toni twisted her ring that was shaped like a serpent around her finger. She was unaware of the faint footsteps approaching her, well until her eyes locked on some familiar shoes, but this time she just blinked and continued to focus on her rings.

Cheryl lowered herself down to sit beside Toni, the muffled music was the only thing keeping them from complete silence

“You know, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be on the shed with that tall friend of yours” the redhead started quietly, still no reaction from the other girl

“I actually kind of wished it would’ve been you” this caused Toni to turn to Cheryl

“What?” She said, not believing what she’d just heard

“You heard me, I wish it’d been you” Cheryl too turned to look at Toni a small smile played on her lips

 

Slowly the two girls leant in towards one another, their lips connecting. 

It was unlike any other kiss Cheryl had had. It was gentle and sweet, something she was definitely ok with. 

Toni’s mind was a mess but she didn’t care because she was _kissing_ Cheryl. Cheryl freaking Blossom. 

They broke apart but their eyes still lingered on each other, both breathing in deeply.

“Woah” Toni said breathlessly 

“Yeah” was all Cheryl could muster, Toni but her lip

“Does this mean-?” 

“If you want” 

“Hell yes ” Toni couldn’t stop smiling and she doubted she could for the rest of the night

“Your friends were looking for you, they’re waiting downstairs” 

“Oh- right yeah I should be heading home” Toni scratched her neck nervously 

“Pass me your phone” Toni obliged handing over her iPhone that had one too many cracks on the screen.

Cheryl tapped in her number and handed the phone back “I’ll text you later” she smiled and Toni pushed herself off the floor 

“Yeah definitely” She said before waking down the corridor towards the stairs, her phone clutched to her chest.

Once Sweet Pea saw the grin on Toni’s face he _knew_. 

 

“Right well let’s head back guys” he said and lead the others out towards the car.

“You coming back to mine Tiny” Sweet Pea asked snapping the girl out of her trance, she nodded.

 

As soon as Toni and Sweet Pea reached the trailer they flopped onto the mattress in Sweet Peas room, Toni was out in minutes, a small smile still resting on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmhmm there you go, i apologise because i can't write cute love scenes rIP  
> idk what the next chapter will be on but lets hope i can figure it out.
> 
> \--
> 
> i also asked my brother what it was like to have dyslexia so most of the words describing it were his, so ty to my brother lmao


	9. halloween special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tis the spooky season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was inspired to write a halloween chapter so here you go! it might not be very long but i wrote this in like 2 hours-  
> btw i haven't checked my spelling in this so sorry for any mistakes  
> -
> 
> please note that there are some offensive things said near the end, i won't give away what, but just a heads up.
> 
> also in this, Hiram has not taken over a ton of riverdale like my brother does when he plays monopoly-  
> this is a slight au so many relationships are messed about with and i may throw shade at some characters *cough cough* sorry.

“Man I love Halloween!” Sweet Pea exclaimed as soon as he step foot into the student lounge (idk what they call it lmao)

Toni scoffed in amusement 

“God Sweets- i know” she groaned 

“Oh come on you love it too” Sweet Pea nudged her shoulder as he sat beside her after a moment Toni rolled her eyes and gave him a playful smirk 

“You know I do” 

“What are you guys even doing for Halloween?” Jughead asked as he joined his fellow serpents, the pair looked at one another and shrugged

“I don’t know, we usually just cause mayhem around the southside and if we’re feeling adventurous- the northside too” Sweet Pea supplied to which Toni nodded in agreement 

“Well if your not busy then Archie has a Halloween party organised he’s not in today but he said I could invite you guys”

“Nice, I haven’t been to a Halloween party in a long time. What do ya say Sweets?” 

“I’m in if you are” 

“Awesome, I’ll text you guys the time but I gotta go!” Jughead got up from his seat, swung his bag over one shoulder and was about to leave before he turned back remembering something “oh and ask fangs, I don’t know if Kevin already asked him but he’s invited of course” he rushed out his words 

“Gotcha Jug, see you later!” Toni waved him off and looked at Sweet Pea “looks like we gotta go costume shopping” she raised her eyebrows and Sweet Pea grinned

“how’s about we skip last period?” 

“I think we should”

“I mean it’s for Halloween” he reasoned 

“Exactly” 

“Come on let’s go” Sweet Pea leapt up from the couch and held his hand out to Toni who grabbed it, the taller boy pulled Toni along and they both ignored the yells of some teacher telling them to get to their next lesson

 

-

 

In the end Toni had settled for the cliché demon look, she was dressed in a black corset style shirt, short black shorts over the top of some fishnet tights, and she had her well loved ankle boots laced up, but she still wore her serpent jacket proudly on her shoulders.

Sweet Pea had opted for the vampire look with a long cape that he was sure to either loose or trip over tonight, he also had some fangs over two of his teeth and some fake blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Fangs had probably one of the most fitting outfits... a werewolf costume- a fucking werewolf costume. Not much to really say-

The trio met up with Jughead who wore a Donnie Darko outfit finished off with a fake axe, they arrived just after 9:30pm and the party was already in full swing.

As they walked up the road towards the lit up house they were passed by many kids giggling and raving about what candy they were given, it made Toni miss being that age, the age where it was deemed socially acceptable to go trick or treating. Truthfully she’d only been once or twice but it was free candy! 

They hadn’t even needed to knock on the front door since it was already wide open with a screen of fake cobweb hanging from the doorframe, it was already evident that Archie had Veronica help decorate his house. The moment they stepped foot into the house Jughead was dragged away by Betty who was dressed up as an angel, Fangs excused himself to go look for Kevin and so that left Toni and Sweet Pea who grabbed some punch which they could tell was spiked from the first sip, they sat down and chatted for around half an hour before Cheryl spotted Toni through the mass of people and began to weave in and out of the crowd and towards her serpent. The two of them had been dating for just over a month at this point and had already become one of Riverdale highs hottest power couples. 

“Hey do you mind if I steal this one?” Cheryl asked Sweet Pea, she tilted her towards Toni

“Nah go ahead” 

“You sure? You gonna be ok alone?” Toni asked unsure

“I’m a big boy Toni, besides the devil needs her demon” he winked referencing Cheryl’s blood red dress and devil horns, the two girls grinned and Cheryl nodded at Sweet Pea with appreciation before pulling Toni out into the backyard.

 

-

 

The backyard was just as chaotic as the inside of the house, but Cheryl had managed to find a relatively chilled part of the yard and it was there where to couple stopped, they went on about anything and everything before Cheryl went to get more drink but only after giving her girlfriend a kiss. Toni waited patiently fiddling with her bracelets but she was soon interrupted by two people yelling at each other, Toni checked her phone and saw the time was already 11:46pm. She heard the boy yell again and realised it was Jughead so she darted over to where all the commotion was. Toni found a cluster of teens watching the fight but she managed to find a way through the bodies so she had a clear view of what was happening, what she saw surprised her. It was Jughead and Betty, fighting? Toni noticed one of Betty’s angel wings was hanging off her shoulder and the side of Jugheads shirt sported a rip that hadn’t been there before 

“I can’t believe you! You said it was fine!” Betty yelled at her boyfriend who just looked angry

“Yeah I did- but then I said I wasn’t! Ok- don’t you get that?!” He yelled back, betrayal seeping through his tone

“God Jughead your so selfish sometimes” The blond practically growled 

“What the hell is wrong with you Betty? That isn’t me being selfish! It’s me not being ok with _that_ ” 

“What’s wrong with _me_? What’s wrong with _you_!”

Jughead looked away, clenched his fist and let if relax by his side

“I’m so done Betty” he sounded so defeated, Toni spotted Cheryl by the door holding two red cups in her hands they both shared a worried look and Cheryl promptly put down the cups and went to search for Archie. Nobody had dared intercept the two teens that were currently arguing, but Toni wasn’t nobody.

She walked into the middle of the two, placed a hand on Jugheads chest and gently pushed him back, not because she didn’t think he couldn’t hold his own but mostly because he looked about ready to breakdown. 

 

**_Plus, a serpent never stands alone right?_ **

 

“What is up with you?” Toni spoke calmly towards Betty despite the anger bubbling inside

“This has nothing to do with you- you _serpent_ _slut!_ ” As soon as the words left the blondes mouth the crowd of people along with Cheryl who had just step foot outside went quiet waiting for what Toni would do next, to a lot of people’s surprise Toni kept her calm stance, Cheryl was about to rush in and defend her girlfriend but said girlfriend just shook her head. Cheryl understood, as much as she wanted to yell at Betty she knew Toni had to handle this herself.

“Ok now you’re just stepping over the line Cooper” Toni’s voice was scarily calm, she took a step closer to Betty so they were barely a meter apart

“huh. Am I? It’s true though, _isn’t it_. I mean when I’m at the Bar waiting I hear _a lot_ of stories~” Betty dragged out the last word with a teasing tone 

“Yeah well you shouldn’t believe everything you hear” Toni bit out

“ _Please_. Everyone knows the only reason you and Cheryl are together is because she feels bad for you! She thinks you’re a **_confused_** little serpent and is only dating you to **_experiment_** ” Betty let out a short laugh “to be honest I feel kinda bad for you too- always getting locked out of your trailer, your home” she said home with such disgust “oh and how could I forget you uncle, he likes to let out his anger on you doesn’t he” she smirked and this was what made Toni snap.

The serpent lurched forward and punched Betty in the jaw and said girl fell back, she looked up to Toni with a menacing look in her eyes whilst clutching her already bruised jaw “oh my god! You’re crazy! Arch help me out here!” Archie stood still next to Cheryl a look of shock on his face which quickly dissolved into disappointment 

“No” he said simply

“What?” The blonde looked at him like he was crazy 

“I can’t defend you- not after what you’ve just done” it was like she was a totally different person, it was like she just switched. Betty stood and shoved past people yelling in frustration, Toni on the other hand was still where she was when she punched Betty. Jughead placed his hand on her arm and that pulled her back into reality, she turned to him smiled weakly and cast her eyes to the floor. Toni could faintly hear Archie yell that the party was over, she sensed that all the other teens started filtering out, some complaining about Archie's decision others about how they were mad that Toni and Betty hadn't had a full on brawl.

Toni didn’t know when she had sunk to the floor but she was soon aware when she started to pull out blades of grass and chuck them beside her. 

Cheryl kneeled down beside Toni and interlocked their hands before leaning in towards her ear 

“You know what she said wasn’t true right? I love you so much Tee-Tee” Toni’s turned to Cheryl a shocked expression displayed across her face “w-what?” Cheryl asked worried she’d messed up

“You said you loved me” Toni replied quietly to which Cheryl just smiled and sighed  

“Of course I do, I love you more than anything in the world Toni Topaz” her words were softly spoken and only a moment later Toni replied

“I love you too, Cheryl Blossom” The redhead smiled and pulled Toni towards her and into a hug which Toni easily accepted. They just stayed there with the others all trying to process what the hell just happened.

 

-

 

Toni, Cheryl, Sweet Pea, and Jughead all stayed at Archie’s for the night. They’d all settled for the night after a hot mug of hot chocolate. Toni and Cheryl shared a bed and Toni drifted off to sleep with Cheryl whispering sweet nothings to her. 

Toni had woken up curled into Cheryl’s chest, when Toni tried to move she accidentally elbowed Cheryl and consequently woke her up 

“Sorry” Toni whispered 

“It’s fine Tee-Tee, I needed to get up anyway” they sat up in the bed and stretched, their eyes locked and they realised they thought the same thing.

Someone’s cooking bacon. 

The girls rushed down the stairs to see the others already sat around the kitchen except Archie who was cooking the bacon 

“You’re a damn legend Archie” Toni said as soon as she took a seat next to Jughead - who was still partially asleep - 

“I gotta agree with Toni there” Cheryl giggled

It was strange to Archie, this whole scene, never would he have thought that he’d have Cheryl blossom in his house not throwing insults left, right and centre. Toni really was good for her and in turn that made Archie happy, because that’s just the kind of guy he is- the one who is happy when his friends are happy, sad when they’re sad and so on, but he also always put the needs of others about his own not because he had to but because he was one in a million the one that does things for others just because he can. Ever since the day at sweet water river where he’d punched through the ice to save Cheryl, he’d seen her differently, he saw she wasn’t cold hearted but that she needed a little love in her life and right now the biggest source of that love was a certain purple haired serpent.

Once everyone was fed they sat in a comfortable silence, until Toni spoke up

“Sorry for basically ending your party yesterday Archie” 

“Hey it wasn’t your fault, I don’t know what Betty was thinking saying all that crap” he gave Toni a sympathetic smile and once again they all fell into silence. A few beats went by

“It is true about my uncle by the way, not that it matters- and the shit the guys talk down at the bar is mostly bull” 

“Those guys are pretty creepy” Cheryl said

“I’ve been meaning to talk to my dad about them disturbing you during your shift and just in general” Jughead spoke for the first time that day

“Thanks” 

Sweet Pea nodded with thanks as well, in the beginning he hadn’t been all too nice to Jughead, but as the days went by and he saw how much the guy cared about keeping his friends safe and how much he valued the serpents, Sweet Peas views on him changed quickly.

“What was that fight about last night Jug?” Archie asked, Jughead hesitated before plucking up the courage to explain.

“Well Betty wanted to.. _do stuff_ , and at first I thought sure this’ll be fine-“ he began to pick at his nails “but it just felt _wrong_. I told her to stop and she started to get mad saying I was being selfish and all that, I tried to calm her down but she was just gone by that point” Jughead sighed “I hate that I can’t just _like people_ like that and want to _do stuff_ like that with people- _I just hate that I’m not normal_ ” 

“Jug since when has anyone here been _normal_ ” Archie attempted to lighten the mood and boy was he successful, Jughead grinned at his best friend “also I’m just gonna ignore the fact that you were going to do stuff with Betty in my house ok” he chuckled.

 

 

 

It had been a eventful Halloween for the teens in Riverdale, Sweet Pea was upset that he hadn’t been able to prank many people whilst Toni was still hung up on the fact that she didn’t get any candy although Cheryl did offer to buy her a bucket full on the weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gotta admit the line "the devil needs her demon" was the first thing I thought of before even starting this chapter lmao-
> 
> \- 
> 
> as always comments & kudos are always greatly appreciated! also wanna say a quick thank you because a lot more people have read this than i originally thought would!  
> till next time x


	10. so. the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is pretty short but i wanted to get something out so here you are!

Toni had come into the white wrym late for her shift, FP was ready to lightly scold the girl for being late since he couldn’t just allow them to do as they pleased, but luckily for Toni the night had been slow. She came in around 40 minutes later than usual with her bag practically cradled in her arms and her hair was messy as was her makeup. Upon her arrival, Jughead, who was seated at the bar with his dad, turned to greet his friend but stopped mid sentence when he saw her appearance. He looked to his father who gave him a shot nod allowing him to take Toni and see what was wrong.

Whilst the Jones’ had their silent conversation, Toni was hurrying to tie her hair up and get behind the bar. She was stopped when Jugheads hand gripped her wrist, she flinched which caused Jughead to quickly retract his hand he mumbled a quiet apology.

“Look kid just go with Jug, either back to the trailer or to my office- but just collect yourself yeah?” Fp’s rough voice said from Toni’s left. She looked at him, slightly frantic

“B-but I’ve already missed a shift because of school work and other stuff- I should be working and I’m already late so-“

“Hey- hey- woah slow down” Jughead placed his hand on Toni’s shoulder, much slower this time, and began to lead her away from the bar. Knowing that she couldn’t say otherwise, Toni picked her bag up as she passed and quietly followed Jughead easily feeling the eyes of some other serpents following her until she exited the building.

A short bike ride later and the pair were at the Jones’ trailer, Jughead knocked which caused Toni to look at him weirdly, seconds later the door opened to reveal a young girl probably around 13. She looked Toni up and down with a strange look on her face which made Toni scowl slightly and tighten her grip on her bag.

“Who’s this mess?” The girl said rudely 

“Seriously JB drop the attitude you’re not impressing anyone, and this is Toni, now move” Jughead waved his hand in a shooing motion and JB rolled her eyes before complying but she still gave Toni a dirty look which confused Toni- she didn’t even know the girl.

By now Toni’s tears had dried and as soon as she set her bag down she went to the bathroom, a distant scoff from JB could be heard behind her. Whilst Toni was cleaning herself up Jughead was having a quiet little argument with his sister.

“Who the hell is that Juggie?!” 

“A friend Jellybean” Jughead said with a monotone voice

“Huh sure. A friend or a fuck buddy?” 

“A friend. Just a friend” Toni said in a matter of factly tone, she stopped beside the kitchen table, hand on hip and with a very unimpressed look on her face.

“I take it this is your little sister Jug” 

“Hey i ain’t little!” 

Toni hummed “sure your aren’t” the sarcasm was dripping from her tongue, Jughead stifled a laugh.

“ugh whatever” 

“And for your information, I’m so gay for my girlfriend that Jughead doesn’t even cross my mind as a romantic interest” Jellybeans face scrunched up in a mix of confusion and slight disgust 

“So you’re a fag?” At this comment both Toni and Jugheads eyes widened 

“Woah okay- what did you just say?” Toni asked in disbelief 

“You’re a fag right? That’s what people call people like you”

“No. They call me Toni. Because I’m a person, I’m not defined by my gender preferences” 

“Jellybean you can’t just call people that, where’d you even hear that?” 

“The junk yard. Mom and some other guys were talkin about it. They even said Archie was like you” Jellybean gestured towards Toni rather dismissively

“Okay, well you know that you shouldn’t ever call someone that” Jughead spoke using his authoritative big brother voice, jellybean took a moment before nodding slowly. 

“Fine whatever I’m just gonna go sit in my room and listen to somethin. I don’t know. Catch you later” Jellbean said as she strolled down to her room.

 

“Sorry about that”

“Don’t sweat it jones” 

 

— 

 

“So what’s going on?” Jughead asked when they had settled on the couch, Toni took a moment before leaning down to lift her bag onto her lap, she paused again and slowly lifted her camera out from her bag. Except her camera wasn’t in one piece it came out as several messed up pieces. Toni carefully placed the pieces of her wrecked camera in the space on the couch between herself and Jughead, said boy stared at the broken camera with a pitiful expression, he knew how much this camera meant to Toni and he knew that it was special to her. 

“Some stupid ghoulies jumped me earlier when I was taking pictures of some stuff and they thought it’d be fun to smash up the last thing my dad ever gave me” she explained looking sadly upon the camera.

“I’m so sorry Toni-“

“I-it’s fine Jug” Toni tried to smile but it just wouldn’t stay, Jughead could see how torn up she was despite her attempts to hide her feelings

“I hate to cut this short but I promised Sweet Pea I’d meet him at Pop’s” 

“it’s fine have fun Toni” Jughead smiled “oh um is it okay if I hold onto this for a bit?” He asked pointing towards the camera, Toni looked slightly conflicted 

“Sure. I got no use for it now anyway” she huffed as she lifted her near empty bag onto her shoulder “catch you later Jones- oh we still need to talk about the party” Toni said referring to the Halloween party disaster, Jughead had been avoiding the subject for over a month but realised that he’d have to spill eventually

“Fine, tomorrow?” 

“Pop’s? At like 3?”

“See you there Topaz” 

 

—

 

Once Toni pushed through the diner door she immediately noticed Jughead, he was sat in the booth in the back corner looking nervous as he twiddled his thumbs. Toni made her way over, her boot heels making a small click with every step she took, causing Jughead to look up and give her a small and quick smile. She sat opposite the boy and ordered herself a milkshake much like Jughead had done minutes earlier. The milkshake arrived and yet the pair still sat in a comfortable silence. 

“So. The party” Toni got straight to the point, Jughead nodded slightly “What was Coopers deal?” Jughead took a moment to collect himself before answering the long awaited question 

“Well we were upstairs, both of us were kinda drunk I suppose, Betty more so than me...”

 

_**// flashback //** _

 

“You wanna? You know” Betty prompted her boyfriend. 

“Yeah. Yeah sure” he said rather uncertainly.

Betty led Jughead into a vacant room on the second floor of the house, she wobbled slightly as they climbed the stairs. Jughead was on edge. He had no clue what Betty was leading him to but he let out a breath of relief when he saw that the room was empty, he closed his eyes momentarily but they flew back open when Betty practically shoved him onto the bed and started to kiss him. Jughead was panicking. And yet he didn’t know what to do. 

Betty had pulled her shirt off and had begun to try and take Jughead’s button up off. This finally snapped Jughead back to reality.

“Woah woah woah- what are you doing Betty?!” He pushed the blonde off his chest and sat up on the bed hastily, Betty looked confused and on the verge of angry.

“What do you mean Juggie?” She asked “we’ve been dating for ages now. I think it’s about time we tried it you know?” Betty leaned towards Jughead again but he continued to push her back

“No. No I don’t know Betty!” He dragged a hand down his face and let it fall to his side “I can’t do this- I just can’t” he spoke quietly 

“What? Is it me? What have I done?!” Betty’s voice began to rise quickly and Jughead knew he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, so he side stepped an angry Betty and raced outside in search of Archie. Naturally, Betty followed all while yelling at the boy. Once Jughead had reached the door he spotted familiar faces but Betty was still shouting at him so at last he began to defend himself.

 

_**// end of flashback //** _

 

“And you well- you know the rest” Jughead sighed and tore his gaze away from Toni.

“Oh Jug” she breathed out, placing her hand on Jughead’s which made him look back up to the purple haired serpent “it’s not your fault. You did nothing wrong” she said firmly, Jughead nodded with a small smile 

“I haven’t told anybody, well except Archie” 

“Told anybody what?” Toni asked softly 

“That I’m asexual” Toni let out a small gasp “oh” she breathed out, but quickly gave her friend a reassuring smile when she saw him look nervous “well i think it’s great that you know, and don’t be worried about Fangs and Sweets if you tell them, they’ll be cool. Not that you have to of course” she quickly amended 

“Thank you Toni” 

“What for?” 

“For listening, and not judging me. For being there for me” 

“No problem Jone’s its my pleasure” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm starting to rlly ship swangs in the show so i might make it a slow burn kinda thing in this idk  
> -  
> please leave a comment if you have time  
> -  
> suggestions are welcome :)


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